The Power of the Wake Forest Alumni Network

Since its founding in 1834, Wake Forest University has continuously strengthened its reputation as one of the leading private liberal arts institutions through the accomplishments of the Wake Forest Alumni Network, more than 65,000 members strong. This includes more than 15,000 alumni from the School of Business who work across the globe as CEOs, executives, bank presidents, lawyers, consultants and entrepreneurs.

It’s easy to carry on the Wake Forest tradition of Pro Humanitate and individual excellence with the Wake Forest Alumni Network. As part of the Wake Forest community for life, you can strengthen bonds with former classmates, consolidate your close ties with faculty, and share your career accomplishments through volunteering, recruiting, mentoring or serving on the Alumni Council.

The relationships that you built at Wake Forest are what made your education memorable as well as valuable. Your business acumen and community leadership are essential to our students, and they need to hear your story in order to follow your example. You might even find the future of your organization among our current students or fellow alumni.

Peter was drawn to the MA in Management program at Wake Forest because of its broad appeal and small class size. He appreciated the exposure to a wide range of business courses among a diverse class population. Peter also valued the chance to interact and learn from those with distinctly different educational backgrounds. His experience in the program helped him to quickly discover his passion for finance. He currently works at CSX Transportation in a financial leadership development program.

Sydney earned undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Spanish before her early work experience in corporate sales. Still unsure of the right career path to pursue, she decided the best option was to further her education. Sydney chose the MA in Management program due to its flexibility and broad exposure to the business world. She values the resources that were available during the program, specifically the faculty and staff who ensure a quality experience. Sydney also took advantage of the Wake Forest School of Business Alumni network, which helped her land her current job at MaxPoint Interactive.

Andrew Blaisdell graduated in 2003 and currently works at CEB, a member-based advisory company. He was attracted to Wake Forest University specifically for the Business School. The most valuable skill he developed aside from technical training was effective communication. His experiences both inside and outside the classroom have prepared him for where he is today.

Brent Banks, BS ’07, MSA ’08, works in investment banking at Goldman Sachs. He values his experience at the School of Business in part due to the excellent skill set he gained and the strong network he built, especially through the real-world experience of his winter internship. As a result, he graduated with his CPA in-hand ready to hit the ground running for his first job. Brent says he still benefits from the alumni network, specifically “Wake on Wall Street.”

Courtney attended Wake Forest University in part because she fell in love with the campus at first site. She reveals the most important skills she acquired during her time here as an undergraduate business major and emphasizes the high level of preparedness she felt during her career search due to the resources the School of Business provides.

While Helen values her undergraduate degree in Anthropology, she didn’t necessarily see herself choosing a career in that field. Without enough work experience after college to be accepted into an MBA program, she decided to explore options that could immediately impact her career. Helen chose to come to Wake Forest specifically for the Master of Arts (MA) in Management program. The career training she received during the program was highly valued while her business courses gave her the knowledge and confidence for recruiting interviews that ultimately helped her land a job at FritoLay.

When Michael completed his undergraduate degree, he felt that something was missing. He had critical thinking skills, but needed to develop his communication skills and business acumen. He chose the MA in Management program at Wake Forest to gain the skill set he required to advance his career. While in the program, Michael found that teamwork was a key component of the curriculum that helped refine his communications skills and ultimately prepare him for a job at KPMG.

The Wake Forest School of Business alumni network represents more to Paul Sanford than a networking tool – it is a learning resource. While Paul landed his first job at Microsoft through the alumni network, it has also helped him develop a vision of leadership: someone who can be respected, followed, achieve buy-in and build a consensus around what needs to be accomplished. He currently runs the engineering team at Splunk, a start-up software company that recently went public.